Refrigerator



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W. S. POST.

RBPRIGERATOB.. y No. 267,586. Patented Nov. 14, 1882.

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W. S. POST.

REFRIGERATOR.

310.267.586. v Patented-Nov. 14, 1882.

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lUNiTn STATES YATTNT rTTcn.

/VILLIAM SPRAGUE POST, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE POST BEFRIGERATOR OAR COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters' Patent No. 267,586, dated November 14, 1882.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,W1LLIAM SPRAGUE Pos'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it 1o appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ot' this specification.

This invention relates to a class of refrigerators in which the object is to preserve fruit, vegetables, meats, Ste., in a dry cool air. The principal features consist in a main preservingchamber, a tank or reservoir for retri geratin g material, and a chamber in which said tank or 2o tanks are set, called the condensing-chamber,77 for the reason that air entering therein and containing moisture, upon being cooled or chilled, deposits said moisture upon the cold refrigerating-tank surface and passes out dry and pure.

The essential object in this my present invention is to obtain a maximum current of air throughout the refrigerator proper. This is obtained, tirst, by placing together a series of 3o tanks containing refrigerating material, these tanks, however', being separated one from the other by non-conducting material, and each acting as a separate and individual refrigerator, receiving air and delivering it chilled, ir-

3 5 respective ot' the action of any one of the others 5 secondly, in the arrangement and shape of the mouths or receivers to the several condensing-chambers, and, thirdly, in the shape of the melted-ice reservoir, its position as to the 4o condensing-chamber; and, further, its relation to the refrigerating-tanks, whereby the moistnre condensed from the air and deposited on the tanks can be easily and readily removed upon any diminution in the temperature ofthe refrigerator proper.

Having described my improvements in ageneral manner, l will now proceed to describe in detail the various parts and their relation to each other, as shown by the accompanying 5o drawings.

In these drawings, Figure l represents a front view, Fig. 2 a vertical cross-section through a refrigerating-tank, and Fig. 3 a 1ongitudinal section of a ret'rigerating-tank containing my improvements, while Fig. 4 isa 55 plan of the same.

The box A, as shown in Fig. l, and containing a series ot' refrigerating-tanks, B B', Sto., can be readily constructed in the end of a railwaycar adapted to such purposes; or it may con- 6o stitute a portable refrigerator for house purposes, and provided with one, two, or more of the tanks B, to suit the capacity of the main preserving-cham ber. In the present instance I have shown it adapted to the end ot' a re- 65 frigerating-car. The box A is subdivided into a series of compartments, O O, Snc., which are air-tight, and tilled with any good non-conducting material, as tan and like substances. The intermediate compartments are each 7o adapted to receive a tank B, and may be ot' any shape in crosssection. ln the present instance I have shown them cylindrical to more closely t the periphery ot the tanks themselves, which are cylinders, though they may ,-5 f

be square, hexagonal, or of any other crosssection. The tanks B have an enlarged top. andin general form may be called T shape. The lower portion, for convenience of description, I shall call a. The upper, b, is of t'rusto- 8o conical shape, as shown in Fig. Z, and its sides are parallel with the upper portion, d, of the chamber O, forming together a circularinlet,l. This, itwill be readily seen, is for the purpose ot' receiving air through the tlaring month D and directing and aiding the same in its descent down around the lower portion, a, of the refrigerating-tank. As the tank B is always made ofless diameter than itssurrounding nonconducting chamber C, there is consequently 9o an air-condensing space or chamber, E, formed, through which air passes and is chilled. This chamber has a free opening, e, equal to the diameter ofthe chamber E, and permits the free passage ot' air, after being thoroughly chilled 95 and relieved of moisture, down and upon the sloping top of the superchilling reservoir-tank F, the angle or slope being such as to direct this cooled air-current outward into the center of the car or preserving-chamber. This reser- 10o f. se.

voir-tank F, used for containing melted ice or a mixture ot' salt and water at a low temperature, which comes from the tankB above, rests upon the Hoor, and extends the entire length of the box A. Each ot' the tanks B B, Ste., is connected at the bottom therewith by pipesf Said reservoir is further provided with an outlet, g, so situated as to keep the entire reservoir full before commencing to run to waste. The gutter or channel G is adapted to receive all the condensed moisture from the air or the articles contained therein, and conducts it by a pipe, li, through the reservoir F into the outlet-pipe g. This pipe h is tightly soldered and connected to the pipe g, and no communication exists between the pipe and the reservoir F. The side ot' the box A below the chamber C, opening` into the preservingchamber, is entirely open, with the exception of the supporting-posts t' i', 85e., to permit ot' free ingress ot' chilled air thereto. The refrigerating-tanks B B may be tilled through an opening` of any suitable construction and form in the top.

The operation ot' this apparatus is as follows: After refrigerating material has been introduced into the tank B a current ot' air is at once induced, and owing` to the peculiarshape ofthe apertures D D, duc., said current passes readily down and around the tank B, and, furthermore, owingto the non-conductingproperties of the chamber C and the narrow space through which said air passes, it becomes chilled very rapidly and eii'ectually, whatever moisture it may contain when entering being deposited upon the sides ot' the tank B. The air as it becomes chilleddropslower andlower until it passes out of the chamber through the opening e, and striking the surface of the reservoir F, which superchills it, and likewise, owing to the angle ot' its top plate, throws it outward into the preserving-chamber, thereby hastening the current. It is obvious that the more rapid the current passing through the space E the more evenly is the temperature throughout the chamber H maintained.

I claim- 1. The box A, separated in to two or more compartments having airtight chambers Oaround the sides of said compartments, each of said air-tight chambers being tilled with non-conducting material, said compartments each receiving a refrigerating-tank, B,arranged so as to leave an air-condensing space or chamber, E, between the air-tight chamber and said tank, the said air-condensing chamber having inlet and outlet openings, substantially as and i'or the purpose set forth.

2. The box A, separated into two or more compartments, each provided with a flaring mouth, D, in the upper side, and with air-tight chambers C around the sides of said compartments, said chambers being tilled with non-conducting material, in combination with `refrigeratingtanks B, inclosed within said compartments, the space between the chambers (l and the tanks B forming an air-eondensing chamber, E, which is provided with an inlet, I, and an outlet, c, substantially as and for the purpose set lorth.

3. The box A, separated into two or more compartments, each provided with a mouth, D, in the upper side, said compartments having around the sidesair-tightchambers@,which v are filled with non-conducting material, in combination with refrigerating-tanks B, inclosed within said compartments, the space between the air-tight chambers and the tanks forming an air-condensing chamber, E, which is pro vided with an inlet, l, and an outlet, @,the said tanks communicating by pipe j" with a reservoir, F, for containing melted ice, the reservoir being provided with a sloping top, arranged so that when the cooled current of air is discharged i'rom the outlet c said current is directed outward into the center ot' the ear or preserving-chamber, substantially as specified.

4. rIhe box A, formed into two or more compartments, each separated by a chamberiilled with non conducting material, said compartments receiving -refrigerating-tanks B, the space between the non-conducting chamber and the tanks forming an air-condensing chamber, E, which is provided with an inlet and an outlet opening, in combination with 'the meltedice reservoir havingr a sloping top provided with an outlet, g, at the highest point of said top, and a channel, G, which receives the condensed moisture from the current of air and conducts it by pipe 71J to the out1ctpipeg,sub stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination oftherefrigeratiiig-tanks B with the meltedice reservoir F, provided with a sloping top, said tanks communicating with the reservoir by means ot' pipe f, the said reservoir having an outlet-pipe, g, placed at the highest point thereof, so as to keep the rcservoiralways t'ull, and the channel G, connected to the pipe 7L, which is tightly soldered to the outlet-pipe g, substantially as set forth.

6. Thecombination ofa refrigerating tank or tanks, B, with the melted-ice reservoir, provided with a sloping face, F, arranged as described, and provided with a channel, G, leading into and connecting with the main outletpipe g, all as and for purposes described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

XVILLIAM SPBAG UE POST.

Witnesses:

H. E. Lopen, F. Gnarls.

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